Ethan''s amber eyes were wide with shock and denial. "No," he whispered. "No, that can''t be


    right. The servants said-"


    "The servants said what you wanted to hear," I cut in. "That I was making it up. That I was


    using Lily to get your attention."


    Iughed bitterly. "As if I would ever use our daughter that way."


    (Ethan''s POV)


    Her words triggered a flood of memories I had dismissed as unimportant. Conversations I had


    ignored, pleas I had rejected.


    1


    I remembered the servants'' usations - that Olivia was deliberately making Lily sick to get my attention. usations I had readily believed, blinded by my


    prejudice and my concern for


    Emma.


    I remembered Lily''s timid phone call, her small voice filled with pain: "Daddy, can youe be


    with Lily? Lily is sick, and the treatment hurts..."


    I had dismissed her plea, believing it to be another maniptive tactic from my mate. "Don''t be like your mother, full of lies," I had told her coldly before hanging up.


    The memory of my cruelty made me physically ill. I bent forward, retching, though nothing


    came up but bitter bile.


    "I didn''t know," I gasped, knowing even as I said it how pathetic it sounded. "I thought-"


    "You thought what?" Olivia demanded. "That a five-year-old child would lie about being in pain? That she would pretend to cough up blood just to get your attention?"


    I had no answer. There was no justification for what I had done - or rather, what I had failed to


    315


    < Chapter 99: The Truth Reveal...


    1. do.


    +15 Points >


    "Lily... she really had kidney failure?" I stammered, the enormity of my mistake crushing me.


    Olivia''s cold stare confirmed my worst fear. "Yes," she said simply. "Terminal kidney failure.


    The doctors gave her six months without a transnt."


    "But why didn''t you-"


    "Tell you?" Olivia finished for me. "I did. Countless times. I called, I texted, I even came to your


    office. But you were always too busy with Victoria and Emma to listen."


    Each word was a knife to my heart, cutting deeper because I knew they were true.


    "There was a donor," Olivia continued, her voice breaking slightly. "A perfect match. The


    surgery was scheduled. But at thest minute, the kidney was redirected to another patient."


    "Who?" I asked, though I already suspected the answer.


    "Emma," Olivia whispered. "Victoria''s daughter needed an emergency transnt,


    and somehow, her need was deemed more urgent than Lily''s."


    The implications of what she was saying hit me like a physical blow. Had Victoria deliberately


    sabotaged Lily''s treatment to benefit Emma? Had I unknowingly contributed to my


    own


    daughter''s death by prioritizing Victoria''s child?


    “No,” I said, shaking my head. "Victoria wouldn''t do that. She couldn''t be that cruel."


    Olivia''sugh was hollow, devoid of humor. "You still defend her, even now? After everything?".


    I had no response. My mind was reeling, trying to process the unthinkable - that my daughter was gone, and I had yed a part in her death through my neglect and blind trust in Victoria.


    "I need to see her," I said suddenly, grasping Olivia''s hand. "Which hospital is Lily in?"


    Olivia didn''t move. I felt her wrist tremble beneath my grip, my own fear mirroring hers.


    "I''ll get her the best hospital, the best doctors," I promised desperately. "I''ll cure her... I..."


    My voice broke as I clung to thest shreds of denial. Lily couldn''t be dead. She couldn''t be. I had just built an entire amusement park for her. I had ns, so many ns to make up for lost time.


    Oliviaughed, a hollow, chilling sound that sent shivers down my spine.


    "Ethan Stone, it''s toote..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Lily, she''s..."


    "No!" I interrupted, my voice hoarse with emotion. "It''s not toote... There''s still time! There


    must be!"


    +15 Points>


    I refused to ept the truth, even as it stared me in the face. The surveince footage had ended, the screen now ck, but the image of Lily copsing in a pool of blood was seared into my mind.


    Olivia shattered my illusions, her emerald eyes swimming with tears. "Lily died a long time ago!" she cried, each word cutting me deeply.


    Each mention of Lily''s death was a fresh wound to both of us. I could see Olivia''s pain, raw and unhealed, mirroring my own newfound grief.


    "She died that day..." Olivia continued, her voice breaking. "At the Moonlight Fair, waiting for you. She died believing her father woulde for her."


    "Olivia, shut up!" I roared, my eyes bloodshot with unshed tears. "Lily can''t be dead, how could


    she be dead?"


    I was on the verge of copse, my powerful frame trembling with the force of my emotions. I


    couldn''t reconcile my guilt and desire to make amends with the devastating reality Olivia was


    presenting.


    "You''re lying to me, aren''t you?" I demanded, grasping at straws. "Olivia, tell me, tell me you''re


    lying!"


    Olivia''s face hardened. Without a word, she reached into her purse and pulled out


    a document,


    thrusting it in front of me.


    The words "Death Certificate" and the name "Lily Winters" jumped out at me, a final, brutal


    confirmation that silenced even my denial.